Continuation of a Legacy
by Captain Vegeta
Summary: The time has come for the youngest members of the Hamato clan to begin their training in ninjutsu. However, first, they have a crucial decision to make. The first story that I wrote for my little "Life's a Dance" series. Please see the story for further information. ;)


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 fan fiction

Alternate Universe fic ( _Donatello's Strength_ AU)

I intend Life's a Dance to be a series of fun, lighthearted, and sweet short stories set in the eight-year gap of my main AU, Donatello's Strength. I thought it might be fun to write Donnie's parenthood adventures with his little trouble makers. Each short story is a stand alone, so you don't need to read them all to understand what's going on. My main AU ( _Donatello's Strength_ ) might help answer some questions, but I understand that it is not for everyone. If you do want to read _Donatello's Strength_ , you can find it on my profile page! :) I, also, don't plan on having a particular order when writing them. So, in this story, the triplets are five years old. In the next one, they may be seven years old...or they may be seven MONTHS old. It will all depend on what idea convinced me to write it. However, I will make sure to say somewhere in the story how old the triplets are so that you can have an idea of when in the timeline the story is occurring.

As always, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to read my story. I do hope that you enjoyed it.

Warnings: None! This is just a bunch of family fluff so unless you're worried about cavities, please read on! XD And if you enjoyed yourself, please feel free to favorite, follow, and/or review! I would love to hear from you!

* * *

 **Continuation of a Legacy**

"May I move now, Momma?"

"Not just yet, Hikaru-chan," Donatello patiently told the antsy five-year-old for the third time in the last six minutes. "You've been doing well. I'm very proud of you. But I need you to be good for a few more minutes, OK?" His daughter sighed but did her very best to hold still while he looped his measuring tape around her waist. At least what could be considered her waist. Turtle shells made determining body parts like waists and hips a little ambiguous. He nodded at the value the tape gave him before reaching up to his purple mask for the pencil he had tucked into it so he could write down the results.

"Why doesn't Kaiya have to do this?" Hikaru whined.

"Because I already did! Two weeks ago. It'd be silly to measure me again so soon," a little voice spoke up from Donnie's left. Kaiya knelt in his computer chair with her arms draped over the back of it. Her ears were flopped to either side of her head and her long tail made slow, lazy sways as she pivoted the chair back and forth by alternating which hoofed foot pushed off from his desk. She looked bored and completely unimpressed with her little sister's efforts. "I don't see why you're having such a problem with this. It's not a big deal."

Donnie smiled slightly while Hikaru pouted at the baiting. "That's because you and I go through this every couple of months," he defended as he put his pencil away and removed the tape so he could move on to measuring Hikaru's head. "You're used to it. This is Hikaru and Lewis' first time being measured like this." He gave his eldest an amused sidelong look. "You didn't want to hold still for me the first time either. I had to get Uncle Leo to help, remember? Besides, you're not getting away scot-free. There are a couple of things I need to measure on you too." Kaiya hunkered down behind the back of the chair while giving him a sheepish smile. He chuckled warmly before reaching over to give the chair a push, sending her spinning. She squealed and laughed at the unexpected ride. "I'm just glad that I got to you three before your Uncle Mikey let you have some of those cookies he's baking. Studies may have proven that sugar rushes are a misconception, but, I swear, there are moments when you three make me question their results. Of course, to be fair, it's not like any of those studies included mutant turtle/horse hybrids in their samples."

"May we have some cookies after you're done? Please?" Lewis quietly chimed in from where he sat on Donnie's right.

"Sure you can, buddy," Donnie promised, making the boy's brown eyes light up and his ears perked forward. It was at that moment that Donnie hit upon an idea. His smile became a Cheshire cat grin. "In fact, if all of you do a good job, I'll tell Uncle Mikey to give you extra."

Three little gasps surrounded him. "Statue, Hikaru! Think statue!" Kaiya exclaimed as she sat up on her knees so high that she nearly toppled over her chair.

"HAI!"

His middle child's sudden overly solemn expression and rigid stance made Donnie bite his lip to keep from laughing. And even then he couldn't keep the amusement completely out of his voice. "Relax, sweet pea. I can't take a proper reading if you stand that stiffly."

Her hazel eyes blinked a bit before she looked embarrassed and relaxed some. "Hai, Momma."

Donnie smiled affectionately and ran his hand over her smooth head before picking up a ruler. "Now, I need you to hold really still. I have to measure your eyes."

"Why?" she asked in puzzlement even as she did as she was told.

"Because I need to know how big and how far apart they are," he answered plainly while concentrating on his work.

"Why?"

"Because if I don't, the holes in your mask won't be big enough for you to see where you're going."

"Ohhh," the child said in comprehension.

Donatello counted a five-second pause while he wrote down his measurements and couldn't stop a grin when all three of them exclaimed, "MASKS?!"

"We're getting masks?" Kaiya questioned excitedly, bouncing to her feet in the chair.

Hikaru hurriedly followed up her sister, "Are we getting gear too?"

"DOES THAT MEAN WE'RE NINJAS?!" Lewis cried as he shot to his feet so fast that his hooves clacked loudly on the floor. He grabbed at the rim of Donnie's carapace and held on as though he were afraid that their mother would try to leave without answering them.

Donnie chuckled lightly at their excitement and responded to each in turn, "Yes, now sit down. Yes, that's why I need to measure you. And no…you're ninjas-in-training." His eyes half-lidded playfully. "Of course, that assumes you even WANT to be ninjas."

"YEAH!" the triplets shouted as they swarmed him, rocking him back onto his heels where he knelt while wrapping him up in an exuberant hug.

He swung an arm to the floor behind him to keep from falling onto his back and returned the hug. "You may not be so happy in a few days," Donatello said with a laugh. "Becoming a ninja takes many years of difficult training." He smiled affectionately as he looked into their eager faces before running his fingers through Kaiya and Lewis' manes and pressing his nose to Hikaru's forehead. "Not that I doubt for one minute that you will be the finest ninjas the world has ever known." They beamed at his confidence and snuggled in tighter to him.

After a few minutes, Donnie patted Lewis on his carapace hard enough to make a faint thunking sound. "Alright, imp, you're up." Lewis gave him a huge grin and rushed to stand at attention in front of him. Donnie returned the gap-toothed smile with one of his own before he wound his measuring tape around his son's waist. His daughters settled down on either side of him to watch and wait patiently. "So…I have a VERY important question for you," he began, pausing to make sure he had their attention. "What colors do you want your masks to be?" Three voices immediately overlapped with one another, turning into a jumbled, indecipherable mess. "Ah, ah, ah!" he quickly shushed them. "One at a time. OK? First shall be…" he pressed his forefinger to his lips for a moment "…Kaiya." The other two groaned in disappointment. "Now, now, you two. It's not like you won't get your turn just because you didn't go first." He pulled his pencil from his mask again so he could write down his first measurement for Lewis. Then he shifted to where Kaiya's information waited to be filled in. "OK, sweetie. What would you like your mask to be?"

"Black! It's the best color for a ninja!" she sagely declared while folding her arms.

Donatello chuckled quietly as he wrote down her selection. "Black IS a good choice. But then again, any dark color that aids with hiding in the shadows is the 'best' color for a ninja," he told her with a gentle smile. He was just about to resume measuring Lewis when he noticed how his son had turned his eyes to the floor. "What's wrong, Lewis?"

The little turtle/horse hybrid shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other before he timidly lifted his eyes to his mother's and murmured, "I wanted to pick black."

Donnie blinked in astonishment. Thanks to their starkly different personalities, he and his brothers never had to worry about overlap when it came to choosing their mask colors. He had assumed that the same would hold true for his children. A 'color war' between them never even crossed his mind. His eye ridges creased in thought. "Well, there is no reason why you both can't have black," he suggested. He couldn't stop a chuckle from slipping out when both Lewis and Kaiya wrinkled their snouts at him. "Except for that." He tapped his lips with his forefinger a couple of times as he puzzled over what to do. "Why not green? It's your favorite color." He paused for a moment. "It is still your favorite color, right?"

"Yeah, but…" Lewis slid his forefinger over the sea foam green stripe that ran down the dead center of his olive face. "I'm green enough already!"

The mutant turtle chuckled as he reached out and twirled a lock of his son's sea foam mane around his own forefinger. "Yeah. There's no disputing that. Arms out like an airplane, buddy." Donnie looped his measuring tape around one of Lewis' elbows once the boy did as he asked. "Why do you want your mask to be black anyways?" Perhaps if he knew the reasoning behind the choice he could figure something out.

"Because it's the color of The Lone Rider's mask!"

"Ah, I see." That certainly explained it. The boy had a serious case of hero worship for the titular character of his newest favorite TV show. As silly as he found his son's desire to emulate a fictional character, Donatello couldn't find a good reason to discourage it. After all, the character was the very embodiment of righteousness: a trait that he hoped to instill in all his children. That was when he realized that his son's fascination with the show was something he could work with. "The Lone Rider wears a white hat. You could have a white mask," he proposed even as he tried to disguise a grimace.

"But, white's boring," his son responded with a hint of a whimper.

Donnie sighed in relief. "You have no idea how glad I am that you rejected it." He held his hand up to Lewis and waggled his fingers at his son in an attempt to get the boy to smile. "A white cloth that still LOOKS white is an impossible find down here. And even if I did manage to find one, it would never stay that way." He moved his outstretched hand to caress it soothingly through Lewis' mane when he saw the crestfallen tears wavering in the child's eyes. Donnie could feel his chest tightening in sympathy.

As he gently massaged one of his son's ears between his thumb and forefinger, inspiration struck him. "What about…brown?" His son looked up at him, uncertainly but inquisitively. "Isn't The Lone Rider's horse, Copper, brown?" Lewis glanced to the side for a few moments while he considered the idea. Then his customary brilliant smile blossomed onto his face. Donnie laughed when his son pounced on him, wrapping both arms and legs around him in an elated hug. "Brown it is, then!"

"HAI!" the boy chirped before burying his face in the crook of Donnie's neck. "Thank you, Momma."

Donnie smiled dotingly. "No problem…my genetic overachiever," he reassured as he gently nuzzled the side of Lewis' head. "But now that everything is settled, I have to finish measuring you and Kaiya…and I kind of can't do that while you're clinging to me." Lewis giggled a bit and stretched up to kiss him on the cheek before letting him go.

Once Lewis was in front of him again, Donnie plucked up his ruler and began to measure Lewis' eyes as he asked with a smile, "So, Hikaru…what color would you like to call your own?" All that answered him was silence. His eye ridges furrowed and he quickly looked at his middle child to find her playing with her toes. His shoulders slumped tiredly. "Don't tell me that you were thinking of picking brown."

Little Hikaru looked up in bewilderment at this. "Huh?" A sheepish look immediately crossed her face. "Oh, um…no, Momma. I wasn't."

"Then, what color would you like?"

The child blushed. "Promise you won't laugh?"

Donnie was truly curious now. "I'm not sure why I would laugh about a color, but I promise." His little girl interlaced her fingers shyly, a truly strange sight because 'shy' was not something Donnie typically associated with Hikaru, before she mumbled something. He leaned down closer to her. "I'm sorry, sweet pea…I didn't quite get that."

Hikaru kept her head down but flicked her eyes up to him and hesitantly said, "Pink."

Donatello blinked at her choice. Then a gentle grin spread onto his face. "Now why would I laugh about that?"

"You don't think it's silly?" she asked tentatively but with a touch of hope.

"I admit that I'm amused to find out that my little tomboy seems to have acquired a girly streak." His grin only got bigger at the darkening of her blush. "But, if that's what you want, I don't think it's silly at all."

"But…" she pressed. "…isn't it a terrible color for a ninja?"

"Technically, blaze orange and fire-engine red are terrible colors for ninjas, but that didn't stop your uncles," Donnie countered with a laugh.

"I've never understood that, Momma," Kaiya piped up. She looked completely perplexed. "Why DID Uncle Mikey and Uncle Raph pick such colors?"

Donnie looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he grabbed the tails of his mask, held them up to her, and answered her question with a question. "Do you know why I chose purple for my mask?"

"Because it's great for hiding in the shadows!"

"A very sensible deduction, Kaiya-chan," he said proudly as he ruffled her forest green mane, making her beam. "But that was a happy coincidence. I picked purple simply because it's my favorite color. Just like your uncles picked their favorite colors. Sometimes, there doesn't need to be any greater reason than that." He ran the tips of his mask tails down her forehead and she giggled and squirmed at the ticklish sensation before he held his ruler up to her. She realized what he was suggesting and immediately went still for him. His proud smile grew bigger still.

After he'd taken his final measurement, he returned his gaze to Hikaru. "I'll be honest with you, Hikaru-chan. Pink will make it harder for you to stay hidden than a darker color. However, don't let that stop you from picking what you want." He stroked his hand over her head affectionately. "Never let yourself be discouraged from doing what you love just because it MIGHT make things harder. Managing to do something despite how hard it was will make it all the more worthwhile." He watched her think about what he said for a few moments. "So…pink?"

"PINK!" she emphatically proclaimed with a huge grin.

Donnie laughed. "You got it, sweet pea." He looked at his eldest daughter. "What about you, sweetie? Did you want to change your mind?"

Kaiya seemed thoughtful for a bit before shaking her head. "Nah, I like mine just fine!"

He then looked curiously at Lewis, who just beamed at him while shaking his head as well. "OK! I guess have everything I need. Now I can get to work," he announced as he got to his feet. He turned to leave before pausing mid-step and glancing over his shoulder, "But first…"

"COOKIES!"

* * *

Four hours later, Donatello was settled on the couch. The TV was on though he wasn't really paying attention to it. Next to him sat three neatly organized piles of cloth and leather, however, only two of the piles were finished. Donnie had his tongue out and pressed to his upper lip as he hunched over the final piece to the incomplete pile. He was so focused on sewing a fastener to the leather strap he was working with that he didn't notice Michelangelo until the other turtle dropped onto the couch beside him and flopped his head into his lap. "You do realize that you came this close to becoming my new pincushion, right?" he asked drily once he'd gotten over his surprise.

"Huh?" Mikey asked tiredly before tilting his head back to see a pin laden purple cushion mere inches from the top of his head. "Oh…oops. Sorry, bro."

The purple clad turtle lifted a knee to try and nudge his brother off of him. "Come on, Mikey. I can't finish this belt if you're lying on it." Mikey forced himself to sit upright with a groan. "You look exhausted."

"I am." Mikey rested his hand over his eyes. "Man, Donnie, when I said I'd watch the mini-Donnies so you could work, I didn't think they'd be wired like this!"

"Oh? Are you saying that Michelangelo," Donnie did his best to not roll his eyes at the wording he was about to use, "the 'bestest baby-sitter in the world', can't handle them?"

"No, I'm not!" Mikey protested. "It's just that…you didn't say that you'd let them have that much sugar and…" he paused when he noticed the wicked smirk that had touched Donnie's face while he listened to Mikey whine. "Wait a sec…was this to get back at me for the trans-dimensional thingamajig?"

"You mean the device that I'd been driving myself into the ground to build? And ended up watching you smash it into a million pieces because you couldn't be bothered with moving into the living room to show off your latest breakdancing routine?" Donnie shrugged casually, but his eyes betrayed more than a trace of irritation. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"I said I was sorry," Mikey mumbled as looked downward with a wince before he dared to grumble, "Anyone ever told you that you can be spiteful when you want to be?"

"I believe you just did," Donnie said with a chuckle. He glanced away from his work to look at Mikey and sighed resignedly at the sight of his little brother sulking. Apparently, the idea that Donnie was still mad about what happened hurt the smaller turtle more than his brother had expected. "Honestly, Mikey, I let them have extra cookies was because I promised to reward them if they did a good job. They held up their end of the bargain, so I held up mine. It had nothing to do with what you did," Donnie reassured. He huffed amusedly at Mikey's almost immediate brightening up. "Though, I have to admit, getting a little payback for turning my four-month-long stint with sleep deprivation into a complete waste was a nice bonus." The orange clad turtle chuckled sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head.

"So, who did you convince to watch the trips while you took a breather?" Donnie asked as he tested the strength of the stitches in the belt he'd just finished.

"No one, dude." Donatello paused in mid-tug to look at Michelangelo out of the corner of his eyes. Mikey lifted his hands in an appeasing manner. "We're playing hide-and-seek. I'm 'It' so I figured I'd snag a little break before looking for them."

"You told them not to leave the lair, right?"

"Come on, Donnie. I don't feel like repeating the sewage overflow incident any more than you do!"

"I know you don't," Donnie said with a sigh. "But you know that I have to ask. I just can't stop myself."

"Yeah," Mikey conceded with a knowing grin. "I think you go into 'Mommy mode' faster than Raph loses his cool."

Donnie flushed a dark pink at his brother's tease, making Mikey snicker. "J-Just…just sound the all clear, please? It's almost time for their first lesson and I need to make sure I got these right before we start so I can make any adjustments. If a set doesn't fit quite right, then one of them won't have any gear to wear on their first lesson. And if that happens, to make things fair, I won't be able to let the others wear their gear either. And the guilt trip their disappointed little faces will send me on is something I don't even want to imagine."

Mikey laughed. "You got it, bro. OLLY, OLLY OXEN FREE!" Much to Mikey's surprise, nothing happened. Not one child made their appearance. Mikey looked at Donnie, who gave him an inquisitive eye ridge arch and suddenly his throat felt dry as a desert. What if the triplets had decided not to listen to him? Donnie would have his shell! He swallowed before repeating his call only to get the same result.

As Donnie watched Mikey break into a nervous sweat, he heard a little giggle coming from the tire swing. His eyes flicked in that direction in time to catch a pair of ears dip back below the tire's rim. An easy smile stretched across his face and he reached over to lightly tug on his brother's belt. "I got this, Mikey," he whispered before purposefully raising his voice, "I wonder who will want to try on their gear first?"

"ME!" three little voices rang all around them. Lewis charged out of Donnie's lab as though the Shredder himself was chasing him. Kaiya sprang from the center of the tire swing so fast that she had to wrap her arms and legs around it to keep it from pitching her into the water. Hikaru, meanwhile, raced out from hallway that led to the bedrooms.

Mikey stared as the three of them lined up before him and Donnie, who only chuckled at his dumbfounded expression. "Mommy trumps Uncle every time. Especially when Mommy has something they want."

"I see!" Mikey said once he'd found his voice again. He crossed his arms over his plastron and tried to look put out but his eyes gave away his amusement. "I'll remember this the next time you guys want something special for dinner." They giggled at his empty threat. Then he turned to Donnie and plucked the newly made belt from his grasp. "I'll give you a hand, Donnie." He knelt down in front of Lewis and started trying to fit the belt around the boy's shell. "You'll know if you need to tweak something sooner that way." He frowned when he pulled the belt as tight as he could but still couldn't get the two ends anywhere close enough to connect them. "Um…Donnie. I think we already have a problem!"

"That's because you have Kaiya-chan's belt," Donnie informed him patiently as he took the belt from his well-meaning brother. "Lewis' is in the pile behind you."

The orange clad turtle blinked a few times before glancing at the pile his purple clad brother indicated. "I knew that." The taller turtle could only roll his eyes and shake his head.

Thanks to working together, the two adults finished suiting up the three youngsters within fifteen minutes. Donnie was both pleased and relieved to find that everything fit perfectly. He had just finished tying and adjusting Hikaru's mask when her sister spoke up. "Will you be the one training us, Momma?"

Donnie was startled by the question and even more startled when all three of them turned eager and excited faces to him. Then his eyes softened apologetically at her. "Oh sweetie, I would love to be involved in your training," he said as he gently brushed his knuckles over Kaiya's muzzle. "But no. I am not skilled enough to deserve that honor." He swallowed at the disappointment that dulled their enthusiasm. "Your grandfather is one of the greatest ninja masters that has ever lived. Every ninjutsu skill I know, I have learned from him and there are still more that he has yet to teach me. So trust me. He is a far better teacher than I will ever be."

"Donatello." Donnie, Mikey, and the triplets all looked towards the shoji screens to find Master Splinter standing just in front of them. "It is time," the mutant rat announced coolly before turning towards the dojo.

"Hai, Sensei," Donnie said as he got to his feet. He had taken a couple of steps towards the dojo when he realized that his children weren't following him. It seemed that nervousness had finally set in, making their legs seize up. He returned to their side and gently coaxed them into following him to the dojo.

Their little gasps as they walked inside made him smile. Even though they had been in the dojo before, the realization that they were finally entering it for the purpose of becoming ninjas made the room feel like so much more. Donnie understood what they were going through. That jittery, excited intimidation was exactly what he had felt when he and his brothers first began their training all those years ago.

Splinter stood waiting for them in front of the dojo tree. His customary serene expression was in place, but the joy in his eyes was noticeable. Today was a day that the ninja master had never even dared to hope would happen. Today…his family's legacy would be passed on to a new generation. Once his three grandchildren stood before him with their mother behind them, he dropped his smile to adopt a more solemn face. "Donatello, is it your wish that your children learn our art: the art of ninjutsu? Is that desire shared by them as well?"

"Hai, Sensei!" was his son's immediate and unwavering answer. Donatello then made a deep bow. "Onegai shimasu." The three little ones mirrored him.

The ninja master smiled and he stood a little taller. "Very well. Then, let us begin." The three children looked at each other nervously, making him chuckle. "Come now, mago. You know that I do not bite." His laughter seemed to help Kaiya regain her confidence because she squared her shoulders back and marched over to him. Her siblings soon followed her example, making their grandfather swell with pride. He was just about to begin their first lesson when he noticed how Donatello watched them with a sense of longing. Perhaps it was time for another legacy to be passed on? "Donatello."

Donnie flinched out of his thoughts. "I'm sorry, Sensei. I was distracted. I-I'll get out of your way," he promised as he turned to flee.

"Actually, I was hoping you would stay." Donnie froze and instantly looked at his father and teacher. The astonishment was obvious on his face. "Come, my son. Assist me in demonstrating our warm-up techniques."

Donatello stood in dumbfounded silence while he tried to fully process his father's words. Once he had, a bright grin lit up his face. "HAI!"

* * *

I really do hope that you enjoyed this little story. I had a lot of fun writing it! :)

I have several ideas bouncing around in my head for this series. Some of them, I can't write until _Donatello's Strength_ gets further along in its chapters. I have at least one idea for after the events of _Donatello's Strength_ , but that one will have to wait until the main fan fiction is 100% done. Others, I can totally write whenever I want to. I would, also, like to mention that if anyone has an idea or questions about Donnie and his triplets that you would like to see or have answered, please feel free to message me! If it is something that I'm not going to write in _Donatello's Strength_ and it tickles my fancy, I may write it! :D


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